City Road Podcast

In this episode, host Jacqueline Tyrrell chats with Amanda Tattersall and Kurt Iveson about their recently published book 'People Power in Cities', which identifies and examines five 'people power' strategies considered through the lens of individual case studies from around the world - from Austin Texas, to Hong Kong, Sydney, Cape Town and Barcelona. Amanda and Kurt chat to us about 'playing by t...

A group of Australian researchers have recently put out a paper detailing how soaring housing costs are taking a toll on solar uptake and effectively slowing our push to net zero. There are also growing concerns that the huge uptake in household batteries - incentivised by government - is deepening inequities in the housing and energy markets. What’s the solution? Well, did someone say nationalisi...

What is the regenerative capacity of Country and how can First Nations knowledge be applied to achieve meaningful design outcomes and recover degraded landscapes? In this engaging live recording, we hear from experts Jess Herder, Principal, Thirriwirri, Adjunct Senior Lecturer, Sydney School of Architecture, Design and Planning; Peter Cooley, CEO, IndigiGrow; Koolyn Gordon, Housing manager, Bridge...

How are ancient Indigenous stories and knowledge told through art? What is a Dhomala and what does it represent in Indigenous histories? How are Indigenous artists creating their own forms of monuments in settler colonial societies? This first City Reads episode, which is part of the City Road podcast, is themed around Indigenous public art and placemaking in the broader context of colonial and In...

A renewable energy transition is top of the list when it comes to Australia's race to net zero carbon emissions. But take the temperature around Australia, and not everyone is on board. Bill Code speaks with Associate Professor Bec Colvin about the importance of taking different concerns seriously and the narrative of regional communities 'standing up' to the powerful actors sweeping in with unwan...

Governments of different stripes tend to believe that the way to deal with the housing crisis is to build more houses. If there were an 'abundance' of houses, we'd be able to easily tackle the lack of *access* to secure housing. But is abundance – as popular as that term has become in the last year – the key to the issue? (Let alone the key to a nice 3-bedder in the suburbs). In this funny and boi...

How do we regenerate civics , in an era of AI, Social Media and Post Truth? Is civil participation going through as big an upheaval as other areas of life? And what do the Brisbane Olympics have to do with a renowned board game? Originally hailed for democratising access to information, the rise of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and pervasive social media platforms are increasingly associated with a...

The rapid growth of data centres in Australia and the role of AI in contributing to their proliferation is a hot topic in both planning and 'mainstream' debate. The Australian Energy Market Operator reports energy use by data centres in FY 2025 was around 2% of National Energy Market use, predicted to rise to around 6% by 2029/30* Dr Bronwyn Cumbo of UTS's Transdisciplinary School and Johanna Lim...

Is the growing trend in e-bike and e-scooter use the key to reducing congestion on our roads - or a menace for unsuspecting pedestrians, drivers, and riders themselves? Reports of accidents are filling the airwaves as experts question how governments can best manage the rapid growth in sales of electric bikes and scooters. So, how best to regulate the confusing landscape of e-micromobility? City R...

Australia is in the midst of a housing crisis. But amidst the political and media debate about the fixes to our housing woes, public housing has slipped from view. There's concern that funding commitments are a far cry from the broad based approach to public rental housing which has supported so many Australians in the past, including Prime Minister Anthony Albanese. So where does Australia go fro...

What is ‘public’ about our urban and regional transport systems - and how public should they be? Are our leaders actually serving public interests and values around public transport? Should a stick in the ground really count as a bus stop? And what the heck is a 'beg button'? In this episode of City Road a rich panel of speakers delve into the big questions surrounding public transport at the rece...

With housing *the* hot topic this election, a panel of experts at the recent Festival of Urbanism battled to convince a live audience that the private market could (or could not) solve Australia's housing crisis. This debate features: - The Hon Doug Cameron, Former Senator - Sharath Mahendran, Urban Planner and creator of YouTube channel Building Beautifully - Emily Sims, Uralla Shire Council - St...

Welcome back to City Road. In this episode, we reflect on 2024's Festival of 'Public' Urbanism and its panel discussion on how the public life of great cities takes place in our cultural buildings and civic spaces – from libraries to museums, town halls, streets, parks and playgrounds. This special Denis Winston memorial lecture, delivered by Dr Caroline Butler-Bowdon, State Librarian and award-wi...

This final episode of the Infrastructure Governance Incubator series focuses on a plenary discussion centred around the findings of the ‘Infrastructure Governance Incubator’ - a multidisciplinary collaborative research project across three universities – which took place at the State of Australasian Cities conference in December 2023. This discussion sought to contribute to a renewed research agen...

Infrastructure planning is intrinsically political – but are there significant differences between how we expect infrastructure planning to occur and the reality of how it plays out? Are our current approaches to the relationship between planning and power working? In this fifth episode, we build on learnings from Victoria and consider the politics behind infrastructure decisions with Dr James Mur...

The evidence shows that increasing new housing production alone won’t solve the affordability crisis. At this special event, the NSW Minister for Housing and Homelessness, the Hon. Rose Jackson MLC and a panel of experts from industry, academia, and community sectors, will outline strategies for unlocking affordable supply, from social housing to the ‘missing middle’. KEYNOTE ADDRESS The Hon. Rose...

Water security is one of the most contested issues facing urban and regional communities across Australia. For growing inland cities like Canberra, conventional assumptions and approaches to water supply, catchment management, and urban planning must be reimagined in the context of climate change. This special event hosted in partnership with the Planning Institute of Australia examines the increa...

We know we must end sprawl and densify our cities, but are tall towers the answer? Can the skyscraper solve our affordable housing problem? Does high density necessarily mean high-rise, and do such developments stack up environmentally – or do they exacerbate issues such as urban heat? What are the wider benefits or disbenefits of hyper-density in terms of urban design, street making, community co...

How are Australia’s Indigenous and settler histories recognised and confronted in cultural heritage conservation and urban planning practice, alongside wider struggles for native title, land rights, and spatial justice? Join this conversation with a panel of experts across Indigenous history, archaeology, heritage conservation, urban planning and design. SPEAKERS Professor Bronwyn Carlson, Head of...

In recent years a new movement known as ‘YIMBY’ (‘Yes In My Backyard’) has emerged. ‘YIMBIES’ argue that planning and regulatory barriers serving local ‘NIMBY’ (‘Not In My Backyard’ property owners) block new and higher density housing, causing affordability pressures across the market. By contrast, many so called ‘NIMBIES’ reject the proposition that ‘supply’ is the only solution to high cost hou...

Episode 3: Innovating urban governance: the Creative Bureaucrat Does creativity have a place in City Hall? The idea that bureaucracy should or can be creative certainly runs counter to common ideas we have of city government. But recently, that has begun to change. Innovation in city governance is being recast as ‘creative problem solving’. Drawing on stories from city governments around the world...

With rising recognition of the health and environmental benefits of active transport, there are increasing struggles between users of footpaths, roads and curbs. Not only are streets important transportation routes, as demonstrated over the Pandemic period, they have also become recognised as important public spaces for social activities, from dining to market stalls or food production. This sessi...

Australia’s legal frameworks for biodiversity conservation and environmental protection are intended to preserve and enhance the nation’s natural and cultural heritage while enabling appropriate forms of urban development and infrastructure. Yet Commonwealth Environmental Protection & Biodiversity Conservation law has been deemed unfit for purpose, while the states pledge ongoing reforms to make l...

Meaningful public accountability in infrastructure governance This episode considers the challenges of, and possibilities for, meaningful accountability in infrastructure governance. Public accountability is often publicly demanded or politically signalled, but much more rarely unpacked or discussed in depth. This episode discusses the importance of accountability in infrastructure and planning go...

Episode 2: Innovating urban governance: Design Thinking What is design thinking and how might it be useful for city governments? In this second episode of ‘Innovating Cities’, Robyn Dowling and Sophia Maalsen discuss how design thinking is being conceptualised and operationalised in city governance innovation. Drawing from examples internationally and in Australia, they ask what design thinking me...